Formerly the non-partisan watchdog of the 2010 US Census, and currently an opinion blog that covers all things political, media, foreign policy, globalization, and culture…but sometimes returning to its census/demographics roots.

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1) On the main map page (http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/),
click on “View Participation Rate”
2) Enter a zip code or a county or city followed by a state, e.g., “22206”
or “New York City, NY,” and click FIND. 3) The map will center; click on
the chosen state.
4) A bubble will appear showing the current 2010 rate and the 2000 rate. A
“Track Participation Rate” link will be in the bubble. Click on the link
and follow the instructions for embedding tracker in your website.
5) Note: To find and embed rates for a lower level of geography, click on
the “Zoom In” link.

1. How do these rates compare with mail response rates for this time of year during the 2000 Census?

2. From my casual observations, it appears that the South is lagging behind in 2010 Census response rates. Does that this mean there will be a shift of more workers to this region? (And actually, does this mean that more taxpayer money will be infused into regions that DON’T participate in the 2010 Census initially, so more workers will physically knock on every door in these places, and thus raise the amount of cash generated for workers in such areas?)

4. Should states or counties with low mail response rates be punished in some way (such as by withholding funds in the future), as it will be more costly to run more extensive non response follow up operations in these areas?

5. Why are areas of the map of the US (at the local level) blank in some instances?

6. Why can’t view the response rate for a particular town or city in all situations — and sometimes only one part of a city or town?

7. Why is it impossible for the common man (me!) with some statistical knowledge to understand what the data in the “Download Today’s Data” means — particularly because we don’t know what each of the “regions” stands for?

8. Why has the Census Bureau created such an incomprehensible explaination on their web site to explain the difference between mail response rate and mail participation rate?